In a few other articles I have discussed various techniques that one can use to induce lucid dreaming.  Now I would like to go over a few of the specific psychological techniques that have been developed to induce lucid dreaming.  There are a variety of different techniques, so if you try one for awhile and it doesn’t seem to work for you, there are plenty of other options available.

Lucid dreams have been split in to two distinct categories, DILD (Dream Induced Lucid Dream) and WILD (Wake Induced Lucid Dream).  The main difference between these two types of lucid dreams is whether or not you experience a period of dreamless sleep before entering the lucid dream state.  With WILD lucid dreaming, it is possible to induce lucid dreaming before falling into deeper sleep, while with DILD lucid dreaming, one experiences deep sleep before entering lucid dream space.

One of the easiest ways to induce lucid dreaming is to perform reality checks both in the dream state and in waking life.  The simplest way to do this is to ask yourself, “Am I dreaming?”, consistently throughout the day.  Take a minute to look around and make sure your surroundings are logical.  Ask yourself how you got there and where you are going.  If you do this regularly, the habit will carry over to the dream state and you will eventually induce lucid dreaming when you realize that the things around you don’t make sense and that you are in fact dreaming.

There are also a number of specific techniques that one can use to induce lucid dreaming.  One such is known as MILD, or Mnemonically Induced Lucid Dreaming.  This technique was created by Dr. Steven LaBerge.  The technique involves both using reality checks in the dream state and spending time every night doing an affirmation or visualization that you will have a lucid dream.  As you are falling asleep, continuously focus on the idea of entering a lucid state sometime during your sleep.  Tell yourself, “I will have a lucid dream tonight!”  Try to ensure that this is the last thought in your mind before you fall asleep.  Then you will have a better chance of inducing a lucid dream.

The next method that can be used to induce lucid dreaming is known as EILD, Externally Induced Lucid Dreaming.  This technique uses an external cue to help one achieve lucidity while dreaming.  The most famous tools for this are lucid dreaming machines, which are devices that you wear on the head which emit soft blinking lights and sometimes sounds that one will experience in the dream state.  When one sees these cues in the dream, it is meant to create awareness that one is in the dream state, which will induce lucid dreaming.  Unfortunately, this equipment can be quite expensive.  I am a pretty light sleeper, so I find that machines such as these are more annoying than helpful for my personal dream work, but every individual’s experience will be different, and many people find them very effective.

Both of the previously mentioned methods are ways that one can create dream induced lucid dreaming.  If you are interested in working with wake induced lucid dreaming, there are an incredible number of techniques out there.  The basic premise is to pass directly from the waking state in to the dream state.  Everyone will experience this transition differently, due to variations in personality and physiology.  However, most every WILD technique has the same basic structure.  You set an alarm to wake up during the night or in the morning, and then go back to sleep.  Only, when going back to sleep you practice keeping yourself conscious as the body falls asleep.  This allows you to induce lucid dreaming directly and to be lucid from the beginning.

The length of time it takes for an individual to induce lucid dreaming on a regular basis varies from person to person.  In my case, I had a difficult time inducing lucid dreaming until I started working with lucid dreaming herbs, specifically Calea zacatechichi.  Then I was able to induce lucid dreaming using some of the above-mentioned methods.  Everyone’s mind is different, though.  Some people may take to lucid dreaming very easily, while others may take months to achieve even one lucid dream.  Regardless, though, as long as you keep practicing and focusing on your goal of inducing lucid dreaming regularly, you will eventually get to where you want to be!